After a term in which the conservative Roberts court swept aside the Chevron doctrine, a decision that will clip federal agencies’ authority to enact policy, and granted a broad new immunity to former president Donald Trump, liberals are critical not only of the ideology behind the decisions but also the integrity of the court itself.
As Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) put it: “This activist, extremist MAGA court faces a legitimacy crisis,” which has in turn created “a crisis for our democratic republic.”
Many of the criticisms that this court is enduring — particularly being too political — have been leveled before at earlier courts. What we are seeing is a replay of sorts.
In the 1960s, conservatives were the critics of the bold, liberal decisions of the Warren court. “Impeach Earl Warren” became a popular slogan, and the likes of Barry Goldwater intoned that, “of all three branches of Government, today’s Supreme Court is the least faithful” to “the principle of legitimacy in the exercise of power.”